Virat Kohli's comments divide brands he endorses

Kohli's response is available on his mobile app launched on November 5. Kohli has over 27 million followers on Twitter.

A video post by cricketer Virat Kohli in which he asked an enthusiast of the game to ‘go live somewhere else’ has created a storm on Twitter and divided companies paying him crores of rupees to endorse their brands.

“The issue is being blown out of proportion,” said Abhishek Ganguly, managing director of German sports lifestyle brand Puma in India. “Anyone who has seen the entire video on Virat’s fan app will know that he was speaking in jest in a section called ‘Virat responds to mean tweets.’”

Puma had associated with the Indian cricket captain to launch his lifestyle brand One8 last year.

“People know the respect Kohli has for cricketers from across the world. AB de Villiers, for example, is not just a great buddy of his but as per him, the most skilled cricketer,” Ganguly said.

“It was an emotional outburst, which can happen. Virat has proved himself in all forms of cricket and he should not be judged like the way he is being,” said Shripal Morakhia, promoter of Smaaash Entertainment in which cricketer Sachin Tendulkar has invested.

Officials of other companies expressed disappointment at Kohli’s video statement. “We are living in the age of social media and he being a youth icon and making statements like he did puts our brand in bad light too,” said a senior official of a beverage brand that Kohli endorses.

“This was unexpected of Virat. Any statement like this by a responsible brand ambassador can also drag the brand into question - unfortunately, it does get linked to brands he is directly associated with,” said a top official representing another brand that Kohli backs.

Both officials asked not to be identified because they are not authorised to speak to the media.

Kohli endorses about 18 global and Indian brands and is said to command a fee of Rs 4.5-5 crore a day for one-off appearances. Kohli is the most valuable celebrity in India, with a brand value of $144 million, according to a December 2017 Duff & Phelps report. Kohli’s endorsements include cab-hailing platform Uber, sportswear company Puma, UB Group’s Royal Challenge energy drink, Manyavar ethnic clothing, GSK Consumer’s malt drink Boost, virtual sports entertainment company Smaaash, Audi cars and Tissot watches.

Email queries sent to spokespersons of Uber, RP-Sanjiv Goenka Group, Herbalife, GSK Consumer and UB Group elicited no response till the time of going to print.

Brand experts said Kohli’s comment had crossed accepted lines.

“Nationalist jingoism in sport is not acceptable and Kohli will need to make amends for this in some way. Jingosim is okay in politics, but not in the world of sport,” said brand consultant Harish Bijoor.

“Someone of Kohli’s stature has to be careful of everything he says in public domain. It’s something that won’t be ignored or overlooked in today’s age of social media. However, unless such statements are made repeatedly, the person in question should not be judged,” said social commentator Santosh Desai.

Kohli tweeted on Thursday evening: “I guess trolling isn’t for me guys, I’ll stick to getting trolled! I spoke about how “these Indians” was mentioned in the comment and that’s all. I’m all for freedom of choice.”

His initial comment was in response to the tweet of a fan who said he preferred to watch English and Australian batsmen over Kohli. “Over-rated batsman and personally, I see nothing special in his batting. I enjoy watching English and Australian batsmen more than these Indians,” the fan had tweeted. Kohli responded by saying,

“Okay, I don’t think you should live in India then... you should go and live somewhere else. Why are you living in our country and loving other countries? I don’t mind you not liking me but I don’t think you should live in our country and like other things. Get your priorities right.”

His response is available on his mobile app launched on November 5. Kohli has over 27 million followers on Twitter.

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